Kakarot
by TheSaiyanDemonPrince
Summary: Goku is struck on the head by Piccolo at the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, and the effects of the head trauma he received as a baby are reversed.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter I

As the final of the 23rd World Martial Arts tournament continued, Kami had begun to doubt Goku's ability to win. He had somehow managed to rise to his feet despite the gaping hole in his shoulder from Piccolo's surprise attack, only to be rewarded with a savage beating. Kami dug his nails into his palm, silently cursing his inability to defeat Piccolo earlier with the Mafuba. Of course, this was the way the boy had wanted it to be. Goku loved to fight more than anything else. Despite his great advances in ki control and mental conditioning, the young man had retained his lust for battle. It was the one, seemingly deep-rooted desire that Kami and Popo had been unable to train out of him. Goku had got his wish, and now it seemed he had bit off more than he could chew. If he fell, it was unlikely that anybody would be able to stop the reincarnated Demon King from wreaking havoc upon the Earth.

 _Although._ Kami thought to himself. _There is something different about_ this _Piccolo. The darkness in his ki seems somehow… less complete than that of his predecessor._ Rather than just malice, Kami could feel a great deal of anger and confusion in his evil counterpart. He was certainly a whole lot less sure of himself than his 'father' had been. Perhaps, even if Goku were to lose, all hope would not be lost. Suddenly, Kami was snapped out of his thoughts by a scream of agony as Piccolo charged forward with tremendous speed and drove his elbow into Goku's shoulder wound. The Earth's greatest hero was sent skidding along the ground from the force of the blow. He had barely had come to a stop when the Demon King capitalised on his advantage, driving his knee into Goku's leg with all his might. It was a sickening sound, and Kami felt whatever small desire he had to try to reform Piccolo slip away in an instant.

"H-he broke his leg," said Krillin, a hint of defeat in his tone.

Piccolo's laugh was malicious, and just the sound of it chilled Kami to the bone.

"You took my father's arm! Now I will deprive you of the same!" declared the Demon King as he fired a thin beam at Goku's left bicep.

The smell of roasting flesh reached Kami's nose, and he felt sick to his stomach. Goku's cries of agony were even worse.

"I have taken from you the use of your body. Now I will take your life, _Son Goku_ ," he said the name with venom as he rose up into the air, far above the ruins of what was once an arena.

Kami knew what was coming. A final attack that would completely obliterate Goku. He couldn't let this happen. There was only one thing to do. He turned to the tall, three-eyed warrior standing beside him.

"Tien, isn't it? You can save Goku if you kill me. Junior will die too. It is the only way," Kami admonished.

The warrior met his eyes, clearly unsure of what to do.

"Do not worry. You can restore my life with a wish from the eternal dragon." It was a lie, Kami knew. The dragon balls would turn to stone the moment he died, but he was more than willing to sacrifice his own life to protect the Earth and its people. It was his divine duty as Guardian.

'Alright. If it's the only way, I will do it," responded Tien, and Kami could see that he had steeled himself for what he was about to do.

"No!" came a cry from the battlefield. It was Goku.

"I c-can still win! You h-have to trust me!" he yelled, his voice cracking from the pain.

Kami didn't know what he was thinking. He couldn't even move. The battle was over. Piccolo glowed with energy, electricity crackling around him. An enormous blast erupted from his outstretched hands and plummeted towards the ground at Goku.

"Too late now," said Tien, and he was right. All hope was lost.

The light of the explosion momentarily blinded everyone, and the sound came a fraction of a second later with deafening intensity. As the dust settled and his hearing returned, Kami's ears were once again filled with the Demon King's maniacal laugh. The newly-formed crater came into view and Kami realised with horror that there was no trace of Goku.

* * *

"Ahahahaha! He was completely obliterated! My vengeance is complete and now I can finish what my father started by ruling this w-" Piccolo cut himself off, his head snapping to the right as he noticed a still-living Goku blasting towards him headfirst. Somehow, that stubborn cockroach had avoided the blast and launched himself into the air for a surprise attack. Reacting instantly, Piccolo raised his hands up high and cupped them together, before bringing them down full force and smashing his opponent with a double axe handle at the very last second. The blow stopped Goku's forward momentum dead, and he plummeted to the ground with tremendous velocity. The impact was devastating.

"You rodent! You tried to sneak attack me! You should have known that wouldn't work, fool!" Piccolo taunted as he lowered himself to the ground. Goku was face down in the bottom of the crater, his limbs spread. He wouldn't be getting up from that blow. Standing over his fallen opponent, Piccolo raised one hand crackling with energy, poised to deliver the finishing blow.

"Time's up, Goku. This is for my father," said Piccolo, his tone menacing, with a hint of glee.

Suddenly, Piccolo felt himself engulfed by a green vortex. Agony invaded every fiber of his being and his body became warped and stretched as he fought to regain control of it. _It's the Mafuba!_ He realised. That old fool, Kami had used his momentary distraction to once again attempt the accursed technique. Only this time, Piccolo was too drained to counter. He swirled around helplessly, his body wracked with pain beyond imagining. And then, in an instant, his world went dark, and he knew nothing but the cold.

* * *

Kami collapsed to the ground, exhausted from having expended all his energy trapping Piccolo in the little ceramic bottle. His eyes grew heavy as he watched Tien quickly grab it off the ground and seal it with the cork. Reaching out with his senses, he tried to find any trace of Goku's ki, hoping desperately that the young man yet lived. What he found perplexed him. It was Goku alright. Faint, but alive. There was, however, something unmistakably different about him. A realisation dawned on Kami as he recalled what he had learned about the nature of the boy's mind. _Head trauma_. The Guardian of Earth fought desperately to stay conscious so he could warn the others, but it was no use. He had no energy left.

* * *

 _It should have been me._ Roshi had witnessed his master successfully seal Piccolo with the Mafuba all those centuries ago. He had tried and failed himself a few years prior, and died for his efforts. Now he looked upon the motionless form of Kami, and felt a slight twinge of guilt. _Surely the Earth needs it's Guardian more than it ever needed a doddering old hermit like me._ He looked over at Tien and could tell the triclops was having similar thoughts. They both knew the technique, but Kami had reacted faster. Before anyone could say anything, Krillin rushed over to Kami and checked his pulse.

"I don't believe it. He's still breathing! I thought the Mafuba was a guaranteed death sentence. Kami's life force must be so strong, even at his age," said Krillin, awed.

"Forget the old prune! What about my poor Goku?" squealed Chichi, indicating to where her new fiancé lay still, his face mashed into the ground.

Roshi opted to ignore Chichi's blatant disrespect for their Guardian, now saviour too, and was about to say something when Bulma spoke up.

"Yajirobe, you have senzu beans, don't you? What are you waiting for!? Goku needs help!" she demanded.

The fat samurai looked momentarily flustered from being put on the spot, before nodding and rushing over to the fallen warrior. He rolled Goku over on to his back and pushed the bean into his mouth. He was in such a bad way, that Yajirobe had to use his fingers to assist him with chewing and swallowing.

For a second, nothing happened, then with a sudden bolt of shock, Roshi's highly attuned senses picked up something terribly wrong.

" _YAJIRO-"_ but he was too late.

In a flash, Goku had grabbed the fat samurai by the throat with one powerful hand, and blasted him through the chest with the other. There was no hesitation. No mercy. Roshi felt an icy chill rush down his spine. This was all wrong.

Goku stood up, still holding Yajirobe by the throat. Roshi could see now that he had crushed his windpipe instantly. He tossed the body aside like it was trash, and seemingly began to scan the group.

Roshi met his eyes, and in that terrifying instant, he knew that Son Goku was gone. Chichi however, was less observant.

"Goku! What's got into you?!" she screamed, running over to him.

"CHICHI STOP!" yelled Roshi, but she didn't listen.

It was so sudden and yet, for a moment, time seemed to grind to a halt. A sickening crack was the only sound as Chichi's head snapped around from the force of an effortless, but vicious backhand from the monster that looked like Goku. She skidded across the ground and stopped at Roshi's feet. Dead.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter II

Kakarot clenched his fists and let his ki pulsate through his arms. He felt powerful. Better yet, for the first time in as long he could remember, he felt like himself. A whole wealth of knowledge had flooded into his mind, as well as a single, repeated instruction: _Destroy all lifeforms_. That was an old memory, he knew. Every Saiyan baby sent to purge a planet received the same programming from the neural interface in their space pod.

As a child, he would have been a slave to that command, had he not injured his head the first time. The planet would be a wasteland, and he would have never benefited from all the training he'd received from the planet's most powerful inhabitants over the years. Things sure had a way of working themselves out. Ki sensing, the ability to raise and lower power, energy concentration for powerful amplified attacks; these were skills that the Saiyan race had no knowledge of.

And that would give him quite the advantage.

That annoying girl, Chichi, had come running over to him while he was lost in thought, presumably to attack him for killing Yajirobe. Stupid bitch. She was far too weak to pose any threat. Their match earlier in the tournament should've taught her that. One backhand with minimal effort and she was dead. Too bad, he would have liked to have fucked her at least once. Strangely enough, he remembered feeling great fondness for her not too long ago. Now, she was nothing. They were all nothing. He couldn't believe he'd ever felt any attachment to the people standing before him now; their expressions all betraying their fear and confusion.

"Uh… w-well… since Son Goku is _clearly_ disqualified and Junior is apparently trapped in… that, I guess I have no choice but to rule this a no con-" Kakarot obliterated the tournament announcer with a weak ki blast before he could finish his sentence.

 _Pathetic weakling._ He smirked. Although, the fool did remind of something he'd nearly forgotten. _Piccolo._ Apparently, Kami had trapped him in that little bottle with the Mafuba. He wasn't surprised that the old coward would resort to such tactics, but in doing so he'd robbed Kakarot of the only decent fight he was likely to have on this planet. Besides, he wanted to thank Piccolo for restoring his mind. Right before he finished the job, of course.

"Goku, stop! Why are you doing this!?" yelled Krillin, his voice cracking with emotion.

"My name isn't Goku. It never was." Kakarot replied simply.

Krillin was one of the greatest warriors the Earth had to offer, but he was far too slow and far too weak to defend against the might of a Saiyan. In a flash, Kakarot closed the distance between them, and buried his knee in the monk's abdomen. Blood from his mouth spattered across Kakarot's chest as he collapsed into the fetal position, holding his midsection. The Saiyan outstretched his palm, gathering energy and intending to finish off his former best friend.

Before he could, something slammed into the side of his face and knocked him away. He flipped and landed on his feet, bracing his body and halting his momentum. It was Tien. The triclops was strong, and that kick had some power behind it. Kakarot allowed himself a twisted smirk as he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

* * *

A bead of sweat ran down Tien's forehead as he met Goku's eyes. He saw nothing but cruelty and… hunger. Not even Tao had seemed so depraved. Where this had come from, Tien had no idea. This was not the Goku he knew and respected. However, unlike everyone else present, Tien had never quite considered him a friend. Goku had become his rival in the previous tournament; and he'd been training like a madman for the rematch ever since. He certainly hadn't expected Round Three to come so quickly.

Tien was immediately on the defensive as Goku charged him. The blows were so fast that the three-eyed warrior found himself barely able to keep up. Each strike had so much power behind it that his arms exploded with pain just blocking them. Before long, he was tricked into guarding low as an elbow smashed into his face. The force was enough to knock him senseless. A follow up knee to the jaw and he felt his mouth fill with blood as his body was flung back. He barely managed to correct himself, just in time to see Goku rush toward him for a second assault.

" _WOLF FANG FIST!"_ cried Yamcha from off to the side, intercepting the crazed warrior with a frenzy of strikes.

Tien was grateful for a moment's reprieve as he watched Goku dodge all the former bandit's attacks almost effortlessly. It was obvious that Yamcha couldn't help but subconsciously refrain from going all out on his friend. Not that it would have mattered. Goku caught both of his wrists to stop the assault, and Tien could hear the sound of bones being crushed. Yamcha howled in agony and dropped to one knee, his eyes watering.

"You always were the most pathetic excuse for a fighter. _Now die!"_ Goku let go of the scar-faced man's shattered wrists, and grabbed his head with both hands, brutally snapping his neck.

Tien couldn't stop it. It happened so fast. He clenched his fists in anger and frustration. Suddenly, a wooden staff fell to the ground, and all eyes turned to Master Roshi.

"When Gohan found you, he said you were a miracle. A gift from above. As I got to know you, Son Goku, I came to believe that he was right."

He paused. His eyes in shadow.

"Shen once told me that a blessing is just a curse in disguise."

Suddenly, the old man let out a gutteral yell as his upper body exploded out of his suit jacket and shirt, bulking up to twice it's normal size. He moved into the signature turtle stance.

"I should've listened."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter III

Kakarot narrowed his eyes, studying Roshi carefully. The old man had hundreds of years of martial arts experience and was an extremely resourceful fighter. With his mind restored, Kakarot now knew that it had been Roshi in disguise who had fought as "Jackie Chun" in the previous two tournaments. In hindsight, it was obvious. He'd been outmatched by Tien, who was far weaker then. Kakarot wondered how much the old man could have possibly improved in three years.

 _Not nearly enough to matter_.

* * *

Roshi's body was enlarged, but not bulked to the extreme like it had been when he'd destroyed the moon long ago. Even in that form, he wasn't sure he could match Goku's raw power, so using it would be pointless. At least this way, he could retain some of his speed. He deepened his stance, before launching himself at his former student with as much velocity as he could muster.

* * *

The old man moved a lot quicker than Kakarot expected, but he wasn't worried. Roshi was charging him recklessly, and it would cost him dearly. The Saiyan swung a powerful fist, knowing it would impact his opponent at the perfect time and likely end the fight instantly. Only, he hit nothing but air as the old man seemingly dissipated before him. _Oh shit._ The real Roshi drove the point of his elbow into Kakarot's temple with tremendous force, sending him skidding along the ground. He drove his forearms down to stop his momentum, before flipping onto his feet.

* * *

Roshi rushed to capitalize on his advantage. In his newfound arrogance, Goku had fallen for the oldest trick in the book; the afterimage. It certainly wouldn't be enough to win on its own, but it provided opportunity for further offense. Or at least, he'd hoped it would. Goku had recovered almost instantly, before dashing at Roshi with such speed that the old man couldn't even react. An incredibly powerful back-fist smashed into his face and crushed his nose.

Roshi was sent flying and blacked out before he hit the ground.

* * *

 _Pathetic._ Kakarot regarded his fallen opponent with disdain. There was blood splattered across his face from his nose rupturing. The Saiyan raised his hand, ready to execute his former master without a second thought.

"Now, _die!_ " Kakarot's tone was venomous.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in the side of his neck. He'd jerked his head to the side the instant he'd felt it, likely saving his own life. A small yellow ki disk spun off into the distance. It was unstable and erratic, a clearly undeveloped technique. It dissipated very quickly. Kakarot spun around instantly to find the source of the attack.

There, blood still dripping down his chin, eyes weary but determined, stood Krillin.

"Th- that's a killing technique. Not one I ever expected to actually use on someone. Certainly not on you, Goku," his voiced was strained. "It's a n-new idea of mine. Until now, I haven't been able to keep it formed for more than a second. Still, it seems to have done the t-trick," he grimaced, before collapsing to one knee.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" snarled Kakarot. "Do I look dead to y-" the Saiyan suddenly felt light-headed. He removed his hand from his neck, and realised it was drenched in blood. The wound was a lot worse than he'd first thought. The disk had cut deeply. His mind raced. He likely only had a few minutes to live.

"I'm s-sorry, Goku, but I had no choice." There were tears welling in Krillin's eyes, and an expression of… something. What was it? Regret? Betrayal? It was as if the little man was desperately hoping that Kakarot would meet his gaze and show some tiny indication of remorse. The Saiyan did meet his gaze, but he felt nothing. Nothing but bloodlust.

Wasting no time, he charged Krillin with frightening speed, kicking the monk's head with such force that it almost separated from his body. There was a sickening crack on impact and Krillin's limp body was sent tumbling. Kakarot was certain that a full power blow like that would kill his best friend instantly, or at least imminently. He turned and outstretched his palm towards Roshi, who was still unconscious, and without hesitation, fired a blast that completely obliterated the old man. A twisted smile spread across his face, but it quickly turned into a grimace as a sudden bolt of pain reminded him of his profusely bleeding neck.

* * *

Once again, Tien had been too slow. He'd been ready to step in when Goku was about to finish off Roshi, but Krillin had beaten him to it. For a second, it had seemed as if Krillin had put a stop to him with that strange slicing technique, but despite sustaining a nasty gash to the side of his neck, Goku had survived. Without warning, he attacked blindingly fast and struck Krillin with a brutal kick, before executing Roshi. The turtle hermit was gone, and the bald monk looked completely lifeless. Earth's greatest hero had completely lost control. There was no trace of the kind-hearted boy that Tien had trained tirelessly to surpass. His failure to do so now somehow stung far worse than it had when he'd lost the tournament match. He knew his chances of beating Goku were slim at best. Still, he had to try. There was nobody else left. The triclops breathed in deeply and let his ki course through him. At the previous tournament, he had rediscovered his honour, and let it guide the way he had trained and fought ever since. Respect was paramount in martial arts, but he knew it would not serve him here. Tien felt anger build inside him. He had spent years working as an assassin, and right now, that neck wound was looking awfully vulnerable.

* * *

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update! I've had a hectic year. I promise it'll be a lot faster from now on.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter IV

The three-eyed warrior lowered his stance, ready to strike.

 _Honour is nothing in the face of madness_. He heard Master Shen's voice in his mind.

 _And for that reason, you will learn to kill. Willingness to take a life is the greatest power one can learn. The traditional moral boundaries of martial arts have been the cause of far more suffering than you could ever hope to match by daring to stray beyond them. Mercy may be a weapon of change when the enemy is capable of no worse than petty cruelty, but it has never, in the crucial moment, made a black soul even a single shade brighter. In that moment, the world needs a killer._

Tien rushed forward with as much speed as he could muster. He could see Goku gathering ki with his only available hand - the other still clasping his nasty gash from Krillin's attack - waiting for the right second to unleash his power and obliterate the triclops. But just before that second came to pass, Tien splayed his fingers in front of his face.

"TAIYOKEN!"

At the exact instant the bright light blinded his enemy, Tien split into two copies, their sudden separation creating a gap between them for Goku's blast to pass harmlessly through. It was a variation of the multi-form technique that the three-eyed warrior had developed to work in tandem with the taiyoken, that he had decided not to use in his earlier fight with Goku. It was a level of trickery too dishonourable for a tournament setting, he had felt. Not using it was a stroke of luck, as it turned out, because the tournament was over. This was a fight to the death, and Goku needed to be stopped at all costs.

* * *

Kakarot only just barely registered Tien's hand movement in time to cover his eyes. Had the fool really attempted to blind him out of spite right before he died? It was only a moment later that he realised the triclops had avoided his blast. He must have been much faster than the Saiyan had previously thought to be able to dodge it at that range. Either that, or the blood loss from his neck wound had rendered his perception more sluggish than he realised.

Still, it didn't matter, as he had been tracking Tien's movement even while his eyes were closed to avoid the blinding light. Now that they were open, he was unimpressed to find the triclops lunging at him with an all-or-nothing punch. He caught his wrist mid swing and was surprised at the ease with which he halted the attack's motion. He had thought Tien strong enough to at least make it a small struggle. The three-eyed warrior, his wrist now trapped, decided to throw what seemed like all of his power into a futile head kick. Kakarot would have to remove his hand from his still-bleeding neck wound for a split-second while he blocked the strike, but it was necessary and would leave the triclops open to brutal counterattack. As the shin struck the saiyan's forearm, he was once again surprised at the almost complete lack of power. Something was off.

Before he could process the problem, an explosion of agony radiated from his neck as the real Tien delivered a powerful ki-focused chop to his now-exposed wound from behind. Kakarot fell to one knee as his eyes glossed over from the pain. He couldn't believe had been outplayed, _again._ He tried to raise his guard against the follow-up kick that he knew was coming, even though his back was turned, only to discover the left side of his body was completely unresponsive. The kick slammed into the side of Kakarot's head full force, and in his weakened state, it was a devastating blow. He was sent skidding helplessly along the ground, vaguely aware of the triclops quickly reabsorbing his double and launching himself high into the air.

He would have less than a second of reprieve, he knew, trying desperately to roll over onto his back as soon as he came to a grinding halt. He managed it, despite half his body being dead weight. With his vision swimming, he could just make out the blurred form of Tien descending rapidly toward him, knee-first, for the killing blow. For the briefest of moments, Kakarot felt something almost akin to admiration for the three-eyed warrior. To capitalise so ruthlessly on his enemy's weakness; it was a strategy worthy of a saiyan. But he was not willing to die here, and summoned as much strength as he could to roll out of the way. As he did, he realised he had miscalculated once again. His numb left arm dragged behind, and remained in perfect ground zero for Tien's knee strike. The felt every bone in his arm shatter from the impact, the massive trauma being so immense as to reignite all the feeling he had lost. The pain was so intense that it created a white noise, and he couldn't even hear himself scream.


End file.
